The case of Harry Kewell is another miserable example of how wrong things can go once a player is hit by injury, and the impact it can have on the long-term sustainability of a players career.

The former Leeds United man joined Gerard Houllier’s side in 2003 in what some would probably describe as a dream move – the opportunity to represent one of the most successful clubs in the country, a big-stage moment, and the what is typically the pinnacle of a player's career.

But it was anything but for Harry Kewell. It was a nightmare. The kind you cannot wake from, the one you amble around, watching time, memory and opportunity slip slowly out of your clutches.

Kewell has provided a poignant account of the miseries of his period at Liverpool, dubbing it “absolute nightmare” (as per EPSN via Liverpool Echo).

“I’ve had 14 operations and the majority were at Liverpool,” he said.

“You’d have an operation and you think ‘that’s it, that’s finished now’. I’m going to be brand new again.

“It doesn’t happen. An injury is like a jigsaw puzzle. You fix one area and something else goes.

“The bottom of the world is when you’re sitting on the end of the bed crying, and you’re going ‘am I ever going to play again?’ You’re sitting there going ‘what’s wrong with me’?

“Every time I’m kicking, I’m ripping a muscle. Every time I’m turning, I’m breaking down.

“I get back. I work hard for four weeks and I break down again. The pressure of people that keep going ‘what’s wrong’ with me.”

There are trials players must face in their career – ones that test the furthest reaches of one’s mental and physical resilience.

The Australian managed just 23 minutes before crashing out through injury allowing Vladimir Smicer the honours of competing in one of the most iconic moments in football history.

Over the space of two seasons Kewell failed that test. His extensive injuries ensured that he only managed 19 games in all competitions for Liverpool before being put out of his misery and moved on in 2008 to join Turkish side Galatasaray.

"He lost three and a half years of his career at Liverpool because the guys over there in England had, quite literally, no idea what they were talking about. You have to wonder what they're doing over there. Perhaps they're trying to protect their reputations, but they're certainly not trying to protect their players,” his agent said in 2010 ( The Guardian).

"I think it's a disgrace, as I think it was a disgrace the way Harry was treated. What goes around comes around, and people are now wondering, 'How has he recovered like that?' when everyone in England thought he was a broken toy."

He did do remarkably well, to be fair. Scoring 34 goals in 91 games for his new club and continuing his career for another six years after leaving Anfield, playing for the likes of Melbourne, Al Gharafa, and Melbourne City, was far more than we could have ever anticipated from a “broken toy”.